If you aren't one of the 18,000+ with a ticket to Xcel Energy Center — a crowd ready to boo the Stars, cheer on the Wild, turn quickly on the Wild and/or get their drink on, depending on how things go in Game 3 — but you are still at least marginally invested in the Wild, there's a chance this thought will roll around in your head right around 7:30 p.m. tonight: Should I really invest close to three hours of my life into this game?

Which boils down to a simpler question: So does the Wild have any chance of winning tonight?

I'm here to declare that the answer is a strong maybe. OK, there is no such thing as a strong maybe, and that's not going to help you decide how to use your time. Maybe the better answer is: yes, but …

OK, here are some key points:

*The Wild has played seven games against Dallas this year and has won just one of them. Included are two playoff games in which the Wild has been outscored 6-1. That's bad!

*However: While the Wild has been outscored by a combined 10 goals in those seven games, Minnesota is actually even with Dallas in 5-on-5 play. And during the regular season in five games, the Wild was four goals better than Dallas in 5-on-5 action. The Stars built that 10-goal cushion because of four factors: 4-on-4 3-on-3 overtime play (where the Stars beat the Wild three times), empty net goals (three of them, to zero for the Wild) a better power play (three more goals than the Wild) and a short-handed goal.

The first two factors aren't terribly relevant. The special teams differential is critical. Long story short: the Wild can compete with the Stars 5-on-5; in fact, in the regular season, Minnesota thrived in that situation. The Wild has been living dangerously in the playoffs, giving Dallas 11 power play chances in two games. The Wild has killed 10 of them, but it puts tremendous pressure on players. So this is fairly obvious, but: stay out of the box and use that 5-on-5 edge. That's key number one tonight.

*Does the Wild need to keep the game low-scoring to have a chance to win? The answer here again is no, even though the Wild's only win over Dallas this year (2-1) seems to suggest that blueprint. In losses this season, the Wild has held leads of 2-0, 3-0 and 2-1 against Dallas. There's no reason any/all of those weren't turned into high-scoring victories — particularly the 3-0 lead.

*Ah, but what about Zach Parise and Thomas Vanek being out of the lineup — and the Wild instead playing forwards that only die-hards know. There's no doubt Minnesota isn't the same team without those veterans. You can scoff at including Vanek in that mix, but he had five points in five regular-season games against Dallas this season. Parise actually had just one point in four games and was a minus-six, but his absence creates a domino effect down the lineup while also taking a highly skilled energy guy guy off the ice. Parise led the team in goals with 25; Vanek was fourth with 18. There is no disputing the Wild would be better off with both available, even if Vanek's lack of skating speed would be exposed at times.

Their absence has the potential to wipe out all those other factors, since we've seen how the Wild has struggled to score in the first two games without them.

Tactically, too, I'm surprised John Torchetti is trying to fight speed with power (inserting Kurtis Gabriel into the lineup) instead of fighting it with speed (Mike Reilly, a good skater and puck-mover on the blue line, looks to be sitting again per Russo).

Amid this stew of factors, there is this conclusion: You won't know for sure if the Wild can win Game 3 at the start, but you should know after 20 minutes. There will either be an energy and compete level that builds on Game 2 and is fueled by the Stars-hating home crowd, or if Dallas scores early there will be slumped-shouldered collective energy of a team that believes it is overmatched.